Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-04-30
THE NEWSPAPER REPORTER.
A Word for the Worker Who is Often Mis-
judged by Outsiders.
The EpOch

a WORD Tor the worker VINO Is Orten Mis-
judged by Outsiders.
The Epoch.
When newspaper reporter rings door
bell and asks for the latest and most au-
thentic particulars of Mr.. jones' recent
domestic vicissitude, whether it be the
running away of his daughter or the
bursting of the water back of his range,
it is mistake to suppose. that the report
er personally cares two pence for the
disturbance in Mr.. Jones' household. If
he is pertinacious-and too often he IS
it is from mistaken zeal in keeping fealty
with the great public, which delights in
the knowledge of Mr.. Jones' domestic
affairs.
There is no body of men with less
personal curiosity than reporters. EX-
perience on any well conducted news
paper quickly blunts the edge of that
interest in small doings that characterizes
individuals in private life. II he as
sists at q prize fight to-day, he is present
at q meeting of the evangelical alliance
tomorrow, and the next day at politi-
cal primary. If on Monday he interviews
some distinguished resident of the
Tombs, on Tuesday he listened TO some
ulSu dutuOIIGy OA ILL pO1 tdnG Y uSSGIOuS vi
public policy up town.
It is keen pleasure to listen to the con-
versation of q group of able newspaper
men. Their profession gives to them a
grip on the moment, and they know when to
let go. They move lightly from subject
to subject, but with that discrim-
nation which their knowledge OF
men and affairs has given them. Their
hoz hn OF al
succinct statement. They learn to think
as they write. They selze the salient
points unerringly, and that largeness of
view that circumstances breed in them
induce moderation of statement and of
opinion.
Few people strive to be accurate under
disadvantages as does the newspaper per-
son. He hears rumor here. He hastens
to verify it there. Meanwhile he has con-
suited number of persons supposed to
hold the germ of truth, and their state
ments all differ. But nothing is more
difficult than the truth. No one knows bet
ter than the newspaper person how few
people are able to tell the truth. This
is not from lack of will, or prefer
ence for lying, but from sheer inability to
appreciate the value of accuracy. Nine
tenths of the inaccuracies in newspapers
arise in this way. There is not reporter
in New York city who has not spent
weary hours in conversation in order to
get q grain of truth, and often to find in
the end that that supposed grain Of truth
is error.
With whatever vehemence it may be
denied, the newspaper person knows that
most people are pleased to be consulted
by the representative of any we'll known
newspaper. Although knowing that
what they say is going to appear in print,
most people at such times talk with
pleasure. But type has no graceful GEES
lures, animated expressions, and SYM
pathetic tones. 1t is bald, cold, cruel
and, the interviewed is likely to add, I'M
truthful. There can be no more cruel
exercise of the interviewer's power than
the rendering of an interview into type
exactly as it was spoken
The reporter usually gives his interview
q dignity it does not in tact possess. He
weeds out the sUpertiuities, clears away
the verbiage, links the logical sequence
and mends the grammar. This, on his
part, is purely gratuitOus. But if he has
been kept standing too long in the hall,
snubbed by the supercilious footman,
OF received less courtesy IQdn ne mas
right to expect in the drawing room, he
sees no reason for departing from his
duties as faithful reporter. There are
many men of sound mind and
correct judgment who are careless
of speech in the ardor of CONVEX
sation. Not uncommonly bank presi-
dent or Congressman will thoughtless-
ly say "ain't'' when he should have said
"hasn't." The next morning when this
appears, he realizes that in some manner
CANT" seems to have impaired the value
of this opinion, and he feels that just
estimate of his character and mental
ability has not been presented.
Most men 60 into journalism young,
and before they realize that bodies need
the consideration given to other sorts of
machinery. There is no tyrant so abso-
Lutte as the printers devil. Although the
tired brain reel and the hand fail, for the
newspaper person there is no tomorrow
only to-day.
The fascination of journalism can only
be compared TO that of the footlights. In
literature posterity has voice. In jour
nalism one snaps his fingers at the future
and refuses to be awed by the past. The
present-the present-to-day is king.